Mid-Century Modern Tour 2012-2

2012 Restoration & Preservation Tour Details

What is Mid-Century Modern?

Mid-Century modern is an architectural, interior and product design form that generally describes developments in modern design, architecture and urban development from roughly 1933 to 1965. Mid-Century architecture was frequently employed in residential structures with the goal of bringing modernism into America’s post-war suburbs. This style emphasized creating structures with ample windows and open floor plans to bring the outdoors in. Many Mid-Century homes utilized then groundbreaking post and beam architectural design that eliminated bulky support walls in favor of walls seemingly made of glass. Function was as important as form in Mid-Century designs with an emphasis placed on targeting the needs of the average American family.

Indian Hills

In 1941 the farm land that sat between Dodge, Harney, 84th and 90th streets was transformed into the 18-hole Indian Hills Golf Course by Harold W. Glissman. The course featured over 500 planted evergreens and players would say they were “golfing on the hill,” referring to the highest point at what is now 88th and Indian Hills Drive. The clubhouse sat where Swanson Tower sits today.

In the mid 1950s Indian Hills Golf Course land was purchased by Malvern Co., owned by Gilbert and W. Clarke Swanson. The brothers, from a prominent Omaha family, envisioned the 135 acres as an “ultra-modern area of business and apartment campuses and high-class residences.” The architectural firm of Leo A Daly was given full responsibility for planning the new development, which included 63 acres of residential sites, a church, a school, a shopping center, 10 apartment buildings, a hotel and a park. The first building completed in the newly developed area was Guarantee Mutual in 1958.

The area was viewed and marketed as an upscale neighborhood. Over 80% of the homes were constructed with an attached two-car garage which, at a time when few families owned more than one car, was a relatively new notion.